NEW A108 OWNER MILFORD OH

Hi Everyone, I'm another newby who's been visiting the site for a few months, finding great information and watching the A van for sale ads everyday. Best all around van site by far. My affection for these vans began in 1969 when a buddy and I drove my 1966 Econoline Supervan from Milford OH to Los Angeles CA to take jobs with American Auto Parts. While working for American, I delivered parts with their new 1969 Chevrolet G series window van. A year later, we drove the Econoline back home. I started college, and sold the E van. Around 1972, I just had to have another van, and bought a 1965 Dodge A100, 225 stick window van. I got married, sold the A100, and have missed it ever since. The search for another A100 started last fall, but nothing local turned up - until Friday afternoon! A fellow about 40 miles away posted an A108 Sportsman on CL,  318, A727, 3.23 rear. After a call and quick trip to see it yesterday, I bought it. The interior was gutted, wiring a mess, funky seat installation, missing some interior parts, wrong rear bumper, minor but typical mid-western rust, super straight body. It drove back without a hitch. I plan to make a thorough mechanical inspection and drive it as is for awhile. I already have plenty of questions, so bear with me and be patient.

That's Great!!! Welcome aboard, you're like a lot of us on here who get the "Bug" once you've driven one and it Never seems to get out of your system. I have a very similar story and was just itching to get another van when I stumbled onto this site and the rest is history. Plenty of people with knowledge on here and can't wait to hear about your adventures with your newfound love!!!

Welcome to VV, Belated !

Welcome! I'm not really a Dodge guy, but I love the color. It looks like a good start.
Jim

welcome to vintage vans, your 70 looks real nice, we have a few events coming up this summer ,
one in norwalk Ohio in July , im not sure where you are located . we have some great people
in the north east area. ,lot of knowledge and parts,, im in the Pittsburgh area, just starting a rewiring , what a pain, what questions do you have ????????

Nice ride...super jealous...lets see the inside

I'm in Pleasant Ridge.... maybe we should hang out at the Mulberry Kroger on Friday night, or Quaker Steak? I've got a 66 GMC Handivan

Looks like the exterior is still in good condition. Congrats on your new ride!

Thanks for all the positive comments. I'm sorry it's taken so long to reply to everyone, but the last few months have really busy. The A108 has been back in the road for almost two weeks now and it is a hoot to drive - it takes me back to my mis-spent youth. I've been working on it almost every day - fabricated mounts for the later B van seats, water pump, hoses, fuel line, carb rebuild, motor and transmission mounts, rear u-joint  (the front joint is excellent), tail and backup lamp wiring, ammeter replacement, dash wiring and lamps, dome lamp wiring, repro glove box, lots of wiring! The van came with boxes of parts including a working factory radio (I had to fab a speaker enclosure), a heater that was almost complete, minus the valve, the dash safety pad, missing door lock parts, glove box bumpers, extra door handles, extra window glass and hardware, windshield washer parts (I used a Coleman thermos for a washer reservoir), original tail and backup lamp housings, an aftermarket wiring harness which I didn't use, and many small, obscure pieces I couldn't identify until I realized I needed them. It seems that a fellow named Joe or Zeke Miller from Glendale, IN, owned the van around 2015. I've tried to track him down for some history, but no luck. He must have had access to a parts van, and had the foresight to gather these parts. The brakes had recently been done, the chassis is in great shape, front end tight with caster and camber within specs, steers as well as my '65 did back in the '70's. The odometer shows just under 20K miles although the title is marked as the odometer reading being in excess of it's mechanical limits, but I kind of suspect that 20K may be accurate. I purchased the A108 from a retired car dealer/ collector and he didn't have any history on it, so I'd really like to find Joe Miller. Does anyone here remember him? This van may have been a camper at one time as the battery was relocated beneath the floor, the spare tire bracket was removed so I made one, and there are lots of small holes in the structure indicating an interior of some sort at one time. My plan right now is to leave it empty and use it as a fair weather shop truck this summer. The next step is to have Jesse at Hamlet Paint match the pale green exterior paint and carefully repair the exterior rusted areas, keeping as much of the patina (HA!) as possible. Vintage-Vans.com has been an invaluable research source - I've literally spent hours searching and reading past posts. Thanks guys. I'm planning to attend Norwalk this July after some more in-depth road testing.

rekbender wrote:Thanks for all the positive comments. I'm sorry it's taken so long to reply to everyone, but the last few months have really busy. The A108 has been back in the road for almost two weeks now and it is a hoot to drive - it takes me back to my mis-spent youth. I've been working on it almost every day - fabricated mounts for the later B van seats, water pump, hoses, fuel line, carb rebuild, motor and transmission mounts, rear u-joint  (the front joint is excellent), tail and backup lamp wiring, ammeter replacement, dash wiring and lamps, dome lamp wiring, repro glove box, lots of wiring! The van came with boxes of parts including a working factory radio (I had to fab a speaker enclosure), a heater that was almost complete, minus the valve, the dash safety pad, missing door lock parts, glove box bumpers, extra door handles, extra window glass and hardware, windshield washer parts (I used a Coleman thermos for a washer reservoir), original tail and backup lamp housings, an aftermarket wiring harness which I didn't use, and many small, obscure pieces I couldn't identify until I realized I needed them. It seems that a fellow named Joe or Zeke Miller from Glendale, IN, owned the van around 2015. I've tried to track him down for some history, but no luck. He must have had access to a parts van, and had the foresight to gather these parts. The brakes had recently been done, the chassis is in great shape, front end tight with caster and camber within specs, steers as well as my '65 did back in the '70's. The odometer shows just under 20K miles although the title is marked as the odometer reading being in excess of it's mechanical limits, but I kind of suspect that 20K may be accurate. I purchased the A108 from a retired car dealer/ collector and he didn't have any history on it, so I'd really like to find Joe Miller. Does anyone here remember him? This van may have been a camper at one time as the battery was relocated beneath the floor, the spare tire bracket was removed so I made one, and there are lots of small holes in the structure indicating an interior of some sort at one time. My plan right now is to leave it empty and use it as a fair weather shop truck this summer. The next step is to have Jesse at Hamlet Paint match the pale green exterior paint and carefully repair the exterior rusted areas, keeping as much of the patina (HA!) as possible. Vintage-Vans.com has been an invaluable research source - I've literally spent hours searching and reading past posts. Thanks guys. I'm planning to attend Norwalk this July after some more in-depth road testing.

Perfection....you are a lucky man. Seems too nice for a shop van. You should probably sell it to me and get a beater and keep the profit.

Thanks for the kind words. I'm retired so it will be used gently - runs to the parts store, swap meets, taking the dogs to the vet. The old Dakota will do the dirty work and heavy lifting. I do feel lucky to have found this van and I will protect it. I'll keep it garaged and out of the weather. Of all the old cars we've owned, my wife says this is her favorite!

rekbender wrote:Thanks for the kind words. I'm retired so it will be used gently - runs to the parts store, swap meets, taking the dogs to the vet. The old Dakota will do the dirty work and heavy lifting. I do feel lucky to have found this van and I will protect it. I'll keep it garaged and out of the weather. Of all the old cars we've owned, my wife says this is her favorite!

Were the seat rails tough or just moving the bar in the seat frame? I will want high backs as well.

Mounting the seats wasn't difficult, just tedious trial and error as the fit was really tight due the the seat width and asymmetrical shape of the engine housing. The seats had been bolted to 1/4" plywood and kind of jammed in place. The only original parts were the rear  U-shaped support brackets - luckily they slide side to side within a limited range.


Driver seat front inner support bracket at floor 1/8" x 1" flat steel


Driver seat front inner support at seat track


Driver seat front outer track bolted though wheel house, crude, but no alternative


Passenger seat front inner support a seat track


Passenger front inner support at floor


Passenger front outer track bolted through wheel house


Passenger rear factory U-bracket with offset adapters


Passenger rear outer adapter


Passenger rear inner adapter


Passenger seat barely fits


Driver seat U-bracket with offset adapters


Driver seat inner adapter, seat tracks had to be moved forward for adjustment range


Driver seat outer adapter


Again, just barely clears

These pictures were taken during the mock-up and everything just hung together. I was too impatient to drive the van so I will remove and paint everything, and do a better job with the fasteners. The driver seat needs to as close the engine housing as possible to help center you behind the steering wheel. You'll have to play with the rake of the seat to get any thigh support, but these seats are quite comfortable. I think they are '75 or'76 Dodge B van.

Your latest YouTube vid of your demo drive made me green with envy.  You should post it here.  Yes, I Google Dodge a108 10x a day.

Wow, those seats are really snug! Looks like a lot of trial and error but your patience has paid off! Nice piece of work and a Great Looking Van!!!

nyc108hopeful wrote:Your latest YouTube vid of your demo drive made me green with envy.  You should post it here.  Yes, I Google Dodge a108 10x a day.

And here I thought I was the only one spending too much time Googling old vans. This is the first video I have ever attempted which explains the poor quality. I used my 10 year old Sony digital camera and the magnetic mount from my dial indicator (the camera screwed right on). It took me all afternoon yesterday to figure out how to edit it and configure it to load to YouTube. My wife asked me this morning if I'd mailed you a link yesterday and I planned to do it this morning, but you beat me to it. You sounded close to purchasing a van. Have you found one yet?

rekbender wrote:

nyc108hopeful wrote:Your latest YouTube vid of your demo drive made me green with envy.  You should post it here.  Yes, I Google Dodge a108 10x a day.

And here I thought I was the only one spending too much time Googling old vans. This is the first video I have ever attempted which explains the poor quality. I used my 10 year old Sony digital camera and the magnetic mount from my dial indicator (the camera screwed right on). It took me all afternoon yesterday to figure out how to edit it and configure it to load to YouTube. My wife asked me this morning if I'd mailed you a link yesterday and I planned to do it this morning, but you beat me to it. You sounded close to purchasing a van. Have you found one yet?

I have a chance at basically the perfect a108 for me which would also come with an amazing/fun road trip.

Wife has finally come out as a hard no in general.

I am working on her but these are very tough days as this is the first time we are on opposite ends of things.

I am in a bad place because I can move forward but I wanted this to be fun for both of us.

I worked out all the financials, logistics, garaging, modernization mods, but she just doesnt like it in general.

Dont know if I can give up the auto part of my life as it has become apparent it is a no to anything from the 60s (basically anything not modern 90s and up).

nyc108hopeful wrote:

rekbender wrote:

nyc108hopeful wrote:Your latest YouTube vid of your demo drive made me green with envy.  You should post it here.  Yes, I Google Dodge a108 10x a day.

And here I thought I was the only one spending too much time Googling old vans. This is the first video I have ever attempted which explains the poor quality. I used my 10 year old Sony digital camera and the magnetic mount from my dial indicator (the camera screwed right on). It took me all afternoon yesterday to figure out how to edit it and configure it to load to YouTube. My wife asked me this morning if I'd mailed you a link yesterday and I planned to do it this morning, but you beat me to it. You sounded close to purchasing a van. Have you found one yet?

I have a chance at basically the perfect a108 for me which would also come with an amazing/fun road trip.

Wife has finally come out as a hard no in general.

I am working on her but these are very tough days as this is the first time we are on opposite ends of things.

I am in a bad place because I can move forward but I wanted this to be fun for both of us.

I worked out all the financials, logistics, garaging, modernization mods, but she just doesnt like it in general.

Dont know if I can give up the auto part of my life as it has become apparent it is a no to anything from the 60s (basically anything not modern 90s and up).

I'm so sorry to hear this. My wonderful wife has no real interest in old vehicles, but she has always supported my obsession with them. The A108 is the first one she has shown true interest in, maybe because she's experienced the waves and thumbs ups from people we pass. The van is like a magnet. Last month, a fellow and his wife stopped to see the van while bicycling. He'd bought a nice Corvair van a year ago, and had recently sold it because his wife just couldn't tolerate it for some reason. The irony of it all was that he'd made a nice profit from the sale, so had it been such a poor decision to buy it? If it's a matter of wasting money, I have never lost money when selling an old vehicle. The important part is buying the best one you can afford at a fair market price. My time spent is a labor of love and it keeps me from going astray. My wife always knows where to find me. If I could lend you my van for a week, we might convince your wife too.

rekbender wrote:

nyc108hopeful wrote:

rekbender wrote:

nyc108hopeful wrote:Your latest YouTube vid of your demo drive made me green with envy.  You should post it here.  Yes, I Google Dodge a108 10x a day.

And here I thought I was the only one spending too much time Googling old vans. This is the first video I have ever attempted which explains the poor quality. I used my 10 year old Sony digital camera and the magnetic mount from my dial indicator (the camera screwed right on). It took me all afternoon yesterday to figure out how to edit it and configure it to load to YouTube. My wife asked me this morning if I'd mailed you a link yesterday and I planned to do it this morning, but you beat me to it. You sounded close to purchasing a van. Have you found one yet?

I have a chance at basically the perfect a108 for me which would also come with an amazing/fun road trip.

Wife has finally come out as a hard no in general.

I am working on her but these are very tough days as this is the first time we are on opposite ends of things.

I am in a bad place because I can move forward but I wanted this to be fun for both of us.

I worked out all the financials, logistics, garaging, modernization mods, but she just doesnt like it in general.

Dont know if I can give up the auto part of my life as it has become apparent it is a no to anything from the 60s (basically anything not modern 90s and up).

I'm so sorry to hear this. My wonderful wife has no real interest in old vehicles, but she has always supported my obsession with them. The A108 is the first one she has shown true interest in, maybe because she's experienced the waves and thumbs ups from people we pass. The van is like a magnet. Last month, a fellow and his wife stopped to see the van while bicycling. He'd bought a nice Corvair van a year ago, and had recently sold it because his wife just couldn't tolerate it for some reason. The irony of it all was that he'd made a nice profit from the sale, so had it been such a poor decision to buy it? If it's a matter of wasting money, I have never lost money when selling an old vehicle. The important part is buying the best one you can afford at a fair market price. My time spent is a labor of love and it keeps me from going astray. My wife always knows where to find me. If I could lend you my van for a week, we might convince your wife too.

Yeah there maybe greater issues at play. I keep hoping she will weigh my happiness with her minor inconvenience of not loving the vehicle that brings her places. I doubt she loved the 90s BMW that replaced my 1968 Mustang.

Keep me in your thoughts and prayers. People seem very polarized by these vans.